Static Flow
by Kalico37
Summary: Beacon University is one of the top-reputed institutes of higher education in the world, and Blake Belladonna is starting at the college six months after everyone else. When Weiss Schnee decides to interrogate this new, fellow collegiate, it inadvertently sparks something between them. All they have to do, is realize what it means. Rated T because that's my thing.
1. Roommates & Introductions

******DISCLAIMER: ****I do not own RWBY or any original characters/locations/etc. from the series. But I do love this idea, which hasn't been done yet. Much like with Different Shades of Life, I'm getting the jump.**

**********Another new project from me! Enjoy.**

* * *

Every door in the hallway looked the same. Except for the numbers on each door.

This was Blake's observation after she knocked on the door of her dorm room. Room 7, on the third floor. She'd known those numbers for barely an hour, but upon noticing the sameness of each door, she knew that it would be prudent to remember them, at least until the path through the courtyard, into the building, up the stairs, and down the hallway several paces became ingrained within her subconscious.

After a few moments passed, she realized that there was no sign of movement – not even the sound of footsteps on the other side of the door, despite her knocks. Frowning slightly, she glanced once to the right, and once to the left. "Hello?" she tentatively asked to the door. No response.

She bit her lip, and put her hand to the gold-painted doorknob. _Unlocked? Interesting, _she thought.

She pushed the door open, and instantly wished she hadn't. The room itself, in terms of furnishing arrangements was fine enough – opposite her, at the back of the room, almost spanning the entire width of the wall, a large window overlooking the courtyard; two large desks, one on either side of the window, pushed up against the respective walls, with sizable bookshelves above them; and two beds in the middle of the room, also pushed against the respective walls. On her immediate right and left by the doorway, wardrobe closets; in front of the left closet was the door to the bathroom.

As a result, the entire middle of the room should have had enough room for two people to walk side-by-side. A cleared strip up and down the room. Unfortunately for Blake, _should have_ was the operative term – the floor was practically layered; books and clothes and accessories and more clothes were strewn across the beds, with many of those items spilling over onto the floor. On the desks, even more clothes.

Shaking her head in annoyance, Blake crouched down and started gathering her absent roommate's things. She thought about whether or not she should endear herself to her unmet roommate by being tidy and putting the things away properly. In the end, it was an executive decision made in a matter of seconds. She dropped the books and clothes and accessories on the left-hand bed, which had more on it to begin with. She wheeled in her bags, and put them on the right-hand bed. She progressed on to the desks, and did more of the same, shifting things from the right-hand desk to the left-hand desk.

After carving out her space in the dorm room, and several muttered threats of violence to her absent roommate, she walked up to the big window, and gazed out over the courtyard.

_So, this is Beacon University, _Blake thought. _One of the most prestigious higher-education academies in the world. And I'm here now. It's… odd, starting at this place. I should be in my second year at Menagerie, and now I'm starting fresh courses here. _

She leaned on the windowsill. _Well, the extension of my time in college isn't really a problem, as long as I can get away from that place. I would have done anything to get away from Menagerie, and I have. I've done it. _

_S_he sighed, and turned away from the window. She dropped down onto her new bed, and stared up at the ceiling.

Silence passed for a few minutes, and Blake didn't move a muscle. Despite her eagerness to embark on a fresh path, she was still naturally tentative and hesitant. Deliberate in her dealings with others. Overall, she was not necessarily eager to go out and meet people, even though she knew for a fact that college was the absolute time of one's life to do so.

_It's not like I don't like befriending people…_ she thought. _But I just hate meeting them. It's always the same; a slightly-awkward greeting, a beat or two of similarly-awkward silence while the two strangers mentally fumble over something else to say, ugh… awful._

She turned over on to her side. _But of course, there are those rare times when it comes off, and it starts something surprising and wonderful. _She closed her eyes and smiled softly in fond remembrance of times and people gone by.

Internal conflict quickly swinging her decision, she rolled over and stood up. She would go out to the courtyard, but only to see what might happen. She decided to bring a book with her as an alternate option, and walked out.

_But I swear, _she vowed silently. _If I happen to meet my obnoxious new roommate, I will wring her neck._

* * *

"So, what do you think?" Ruby asked.

Weiss thought for a second. "Hm. It could be nice. But we don't really have the money or the time to hire a bakery for ourselves and shove free baked products in our mouths for 2 hours."

"I know," Ruby said wistfully. "But it is a very nice dream."

"Indeed," Weiss smirked.

The two roommates were traversing the college courtyard, destined for the dormitory building. Both had been at college for 6 months, rooming together from day one. Initially, Weiss had thought of Ruby as childish, and had derided her so. But after a slow burn, they had eventually become close friends.

"Hey, who's that?" Ruby asked, looking at a bench. There was a black-haired girl sitting on it, reading a book.

"I… don't know," Weiss frowned. "Let's go."

"Oh, Weiss, you do this every time!" Ruby pouted. "Just because someone looks unfamiliar to you doesn't mean that they're going to cause problems!"

"That's not what I think at all!" Weiss rebutted, making a beeline towards the bench. "I just want to meet her!"

"But you're just going to interrogate her!"

Weiss ignored Ruby, and walked up to the bench. "Excuse me. What's your name?"

The girl looked irritated, at being interrupted. "Blake."

Weiss nodded. "I haven't seen you around before. Are you new?"

Blake sighed. "Yes."

Ruby tugged desperately on Weiss' arm, but to no avail. "What are you doing here? Where do you come from?" Weiss asked, her voice growing in harshness.

Blake raised an eyebrow, feeling uncomfortable with Weiss' approach. "Look, I don't even know who you are, but I'm not appreciating the hostile canvassing. And there's no way I would tell you anything with that attitude."

"Hey! Get out of here!"

Weiss turned, and noticed a blonde girl stomping towards them. "Oh, it's you."

The blonde came up to them. "Can't you see she's new? She doesn't need people like Weiss Schnee interrogating her on her first day at a new college."

"Come on, Weiss," Ruby begged. "Let's just go. We've got to study now!"

"Ugh, fine. We'll meet again, Miss Blake." Weiss' shoulders visibly slumped, and she started trudging off towards the dormitories. Ruby was quick to follow, making sure to give a parting wave and mouthed apology to Blake and her savior.

Blake smiled. "Hey. I'm Blake," she said, extending her hand.

"Name's Yang," the blonde grinned, and shook Blake's hand vociferously.

"How did you know this was my first day?" Blake asked.

"I could tell. You're sitting out here, but you've made the effort to shy away from people and read instead. Anyway, I'd love to stay and chat, but I've got an incoming roommate to meet! If you get bored, just come up to 7, on the third floor."

Blake's smile fell. "Wait. Room 7… _you're _my roommate?"

It took a second to click to Yang. "Oh! Hey! Nice to meet you!"

Blake stood, and advanced on Yang. "Do you have any idea about the state of our room?"

"Oh, so you've been there, huh?" Yang scratched the back of her head. "Yeah, sorry, I don't have many people over. Come to think of it, you're also my first roommate in about 4 months as well."

"What? But, you've only been here about 6 months, haven't you?"

Yang nodded. "Yeah… it's quite the story. Maybe another time. Anyway, yeah, so, I'm sorry about the room, huh?"

"Yeah, what are you? Some sort of untidy recluse?" Blake asked.

"Ah! So hurtful!" Yang cried melodramatically. "No, but I'm usually not in the dorm room most of the time."

Blake fell silent at that. _I don't know what exactly she is insinuating, but I don't think I want to explore that particular rabbit hole, _she mentally resolved.

"Hey, so, you want me to tour you around?" Yang offered.

Blake closed her book. "Let's do it."

* * *

**...Truly Yours, Kalico.**


	2. Hipsters & Extra Padding

**Chapter 2, here we are!**

* * *

"Do you think I was hostile?"

Weiss and Ruby were walking away from Blake and Yang, the former fussing over the comments and guarded attitude of the new girl.

"I don't know, Weiss," Ruby said. "I mean, you can be pretty intense about new people. Remember that one time…" she trailed off, noticing Weiss' glare.

"Sorry," Ruby backed off. "But you are an intense person. Look, maybe it's best to just forget about it. Stop worrying about someone you just met, and we can focus on this calculus stuff tonight."

Weiss raised her eyebrow. "You? Wanting to do calculus?" she snorted. "That's a first."

Ruby shrugged. "I hate seeing you get obsessive. You just end up spending hours stomping around our room, and we never get anything done. Not to mention you raid all our coffee. It's not cheap these days, and we're in college. So if studying is going to keep you from getting a migraine, then I'm all for it. And I eventually want to have some of our coffee as well, not just leave it all to you."

"Yeah, yeah," Weiss said. "You know, you're a pretty good friend sometimes."

"Aw, thank you."

"What would I do without your constant counsel, hmm?"

Ruby sarcastically said, "Life would probably be better for both of us."

Weiss chuckled, "And there would be no more coffee left in all of Vale."

* * *

Yang sighed. "You need to stop doing that."

"Doing what?" Blake asked.

"You know, giving me vague or monosyllabic answers to every question I ask," Yang said.

"I… don't know what you're talking about," Blake said, looking down at her feet as they walked. After Yang had "liberated" her from the bench, they had started off at an ambling pace around the courtyard, with Yang occasionally stopping to point out important buildings, while asking general questions along the way.

"Mm. Okay. Let's try this one again," Yang began. "What's your name?"

"Blake."

"And where are you from?"

Blake looked away wistfully. "A place which I would much rather forget…"

"Right there!" Yang pointed at her. "You need to stop that, soon. Or do you want to play out the 'mysterious' stereotype all the way through college?"

"I'm sorry." Blake crossed her arms, and then visibly relaxed. "I don't like talking about myself or anything like that. It just feels self-serving, you know?"

Yang nodded. "Yeah. But remember that we're roommates now, practically adults, in college. Hey, how about a compromise?" she clapped her hands together. "Just tell me some things you're interested in."

"I don't see how that's much of a compromise," Blake pointed out. "What do I get, for-"

"Just do it." Yang shook her head.

"Hmm," Blake hesitated. "I don't know…"

Yang sighed again. "Fine. Let's see," she paused, scanning Blake. "You like books, your hair, while black, is wavy and curled instead of straight. You're wearing one of those obnoxious beanies, and your makeup looks focused on that purple eye shadow. Okay," Yang contemplated. "You like listening to light jazz music, while reading books and or poetry while drinking a caramel macchiato."

Blake chuckled, "Tea, not coffee. But very impressive nevertheless."

Yang waved her hand, almost dismissively. "I see a dozen of you hipsters a week. It's not that impressive, with that in mind."

"I'm not a hipster," Blake said defensively. "I just like a quiet, relaxing setting while reading. And my headwear isn't obnoxious," she said self-consciously.

Yang smirked. "I can't place a favorite food though."

"Yeah, I don't have a particular favorite food, but I do admit to having a certain affinity for tuna," Blake smiled.

"Tuna," Yang repeated. "So, you're basically a hybrid between a hipster and a cat, who likes to curl up and lie around during the daytime, right?" she heard Blake's amused snort, and continued, "What do you do for classes?"

"Uh, not much," Blake admitted. "I have classes in evenings, nights, and early mornings. But my days are pretty much free," she said, her smile widening.

"I was right!"

* * *

"Okay," Weiss began. "In a group of 200 high school students, 36 are taking biology, 52 are taking geography, and 126 are taking neither biology nor geography. If one of these 200 students is to be chosen at random, what is the probability that the student chosen is taking biology but not geography?"

She was sitting on her bed, quoting from a textbook of problems to Ruby, who was lying on her stomach on her own bed, her head propped up with one hand as she twirled a pen in the other.

Ruby quickly scribbled down the key points of the question, and silently calculated. "11 percent."

"Correct," Weiss said.

Ruby frowned. "I'm still trying to come to grips with these questions."

"Why? What about them?" Weiss asked.

"I don't know…" Ruby muttered. "I can't wrap my head around it, but there's just something odd about them."

Weiss shrugged. "What do you want from me, Ruby? I didn't devise the college curriculum."

"Fair enough." Ruby turned her head back to her work.

Weiss drummed her fingers on her knee. "Do you want to do something tomorrow?"

Ruby looked up. "Like what?"

"I don't know," Weiss admitted. "It definitely seemed like the novelty of college wore off within the first few weeks of us being here. Not that I'm really complaining, of course – studying is an incredibly important part of our lives at the moment – but even I know that there are certain… freedoms that should be associated with living in these places."

"Well, yeah," Ruby said. "But they don't really give us a lot of time to have fun with that freedom, do they?"

Weiss nodded. Sometimes she was humbled by Ruby's sense of duty. It was if she could be some sort of leader. But Ruby would never know it from her.

"But anyway," Ruby continued. "I've got lectures in the morning and midday, but I'm pretty much free in the afternoon."

"Maybe we could take a walk around the courtyard," Weiss suggested. "Of course, the net effect isn't very different from just hanging out in general."

Ruby sat up, with a distant look on her face. "I'd like to go out into town and do something. That'd be awesome!"

"Well, we could do that," Weiss offered. "If that's what you want to do, we'll go tomorrow afternoon then."

Ruby bit her lip, and sighed. "Nah, we probably shouldn't. We've both got stuff to do, even in our free time."

"Really?" Weiss sat back against the wall. "You do realize that _I _am offering for me to take you out into Vale for an afternoon? Vale, where you can count on your fingers how many times you've been there?"

"Yeah, I know," Ruby said. "Thanks. But it can wait. I guess this stuff has to come first. Maybe next time."

Weiss smiled. "Your enthusiasm for schoolwork is pleasantly surprisingly. What happened to the Ruby from 6 months ago? The one who would wear that huge red cape and scoff sugar at every turn? Granted though, your diet is still atrocious…"

"It's…" Ruby's easy expression faltered for a split-second. "No reason," she quickly said.

Weiss frowned, but decided not to force the topic. "So, what are you going to do tomorrow afternoon then?"

"That." Ruby gestured vaguely toward the books on her desk, at the back of their room. "Might find Yang, if I'm not too busy," she said hopefully.

"Ugh…" Weiss rolled her eyes. "I believe I implied that _I'm_ free tomorrow. What does Yang Xiao Long have that I don't?"

Ruby stared meaningfully at Weiss's chest. "Extra padding," she chuckled.

Weiss blushed scarlet as she glared at her roommate, and quickly crossed her arms. "Please. What is it about her that really interests you? Are you thinking about going after her?"

"I… uh," Ruby stuttered. "I… don't know what…"

"Come on Ruby," Weiss smirked. "As someone relatable – with experience, might I add – you know you can talk to me about these things."

"Right," Ruby scoffed. "Because you've had such a great track record over the last few months. Who was your last? Pyrrha, 3-and-a-half months ago? How've you been going with girls since then?"

Weiss's smirk had faded, replaced by an annoyed look. "Are you really bringing up Pyrrha? Thanks for that."

"Sorry. But I'm just saying." Ruby held up her hands. "That maybe it's time you start looking at guys."

Weiss frowned. "I'm not going straight."

"It's not about 'going straight,' Weiss," Ruby said. "It's about being with someone in general. Logic – if you can't get anywhere with girls because you're forever haunted by your last girlfriend, then why not mix things up?"

"That logic flies out the window in my book, since I harbor no romantic feelings for men in the first place," Weiss flatly stated.

"Fair enough." Ruby shrugged.

Silence pervaded, as Ruby continued to scrawl in her notebook.

Weiss cut through the slight tension. "But I wouldn't mind sharing Yang with you."

Ruby looked up, and saw a grin spreading on Weiss' face. "Oh, shut up."

"No seriously, I wouldn't mind some of that… _extra padding_." Ruby flung her notebook at Weiss, who swiped at it and laughed mirthfully.

* * *

**Yeah, so, that happened. I believe I just spawned some more plot-hooks out of nowhere. Very nice. It would also appear that I've given Ruby a potential character hook. (Believe it or not, I did not originally have her as a lesbian.)**

**I don't see these chapters blowing up in length that much, as opposed to my plans with my other project Alliances. This project in itself will likely just come and go, as it's my first attempt at writing burgeoning romance since my first ever project, which ended up being an experiment in mushiness. Nevertheless, I'm hoping I can make a really good shot at it, because it is an idea I'm fond of.**

**Expect chapters of this project to hover between 1400 to 2000 words each.**

**...Truly Yours, Kalico.**


	3. Mathematics & Tea

**This chapter happened. Especially the big exchange in the second scene. Oh well, enjoy!**

* * *

"… So not only do we want to find the biggest maximum and the smallest minimum; we want to find all the ones in between, because they tell us parts of this curve – they tell us interesting things about the curve. So, maximums and minimums, in some limited…"

Ruby was paying close attention to the professor. She was a more attentive student than when she had begun her freshman year. Six months previously, she would have fallen asleep during lectures, only to extort the relevant notes out of her peers shortly afterwards. She'd cut that behavior out ever since Weiss had found out about it, and threatened to duct tape her eyelids open. And after she'd witnessed Weiss floor two guys who got handsy with her, Ruby hadn't been willing to take that chance again.

Suddenly, a tinny beat started playing through her phone's speakers. It was so abrupt that it completely caught Ruby off guard, and made her jump out of her seat in shock. Unfortunately, the action also caused her to fumble the phone. It clattered to the ground at her feet.

She picked it up and answered, oblivious to everybody looking her way. "Hello?" she whispered. Her professor cleared his throat meaningfully, and Ruby finally became aware of the attention she was receiving. "Oh. Heh. Um, sorry," she sheepishly apologized. Then she frantically cleared her desk and excused herself from the lecture hall.

As soon as she closed the door behind her, and looked around to make sure the corridor was devoid of other people, she brought her phone back up to her ear. "What do you want, Weiss?" she hissed. She listened to what her roommate what saying, nodding and muttering, "Uh-huh," every so often. "Okay, I'll be right over. Yeah, no- yeah, look, Weiss, I'm coming over now. Yes, I'm sure! Your call is making me miss my lecture right now!"

* * *

There was one thing in particular that Ruby noticed while she was crossing the courtyard. The clouds were dark and out in force, which she considered unusual for the month Vale was having.

_It's gonna rain tonight. Thank God I'm not one of those people that goes out at nights._

She clambered up the three flights of stairs, and raised a hand to Weiss, who was standing by their door. She got a wave in return and walked down the hall.

"You took your time." Weiss crossed her arms.

Ruby shrugged. "I'm here, aren't I? What was so important that you had to drag me from my lecture?"

"Someone's in our room!" Weiss pointed at the door. "There is a miscreant committing tomfoolery and other various shenanigans in our shared living space!"

"What?!" Ruby exclaimed. She busted through the door, prepared to cave in a skull or two.

"Oh. Hey there. It _was _unlocked."

"Hm?" Ruby blinked. The new girl from the other day – _Blake, I think her name was_ – was sitting up the back of the room, flipping through one of Weiss's economics textbooks and occasionally sipping from a mug of tea.

Blake sipped, and regarded Ruby with interest. "I mean that since the door was unlocked, you didn't need to shoulder-charge the door. You know, if doors were sentient entities, I'm sure your door would paint a less-than-flattering picture of you."

"Ehhh," Ruby fumbled, confused.

"What are you doing in our room?!" Weiss asked finally, having grown tired of her roommate's ineptitude at confrontations.

"Oh, yeah," Blake said, as if just realizing that she was indeed in someone else's room. "Well, apparently Yang doesn't keep any tea in our room, just a few doors down, and your room was open."

"Why didn't you just go out and buy tea?" Ruby asked, still quite clearly shocked.

"Hey." Blake's tone was suddenly defensive. "I was working overnight, then I came back to the campus and slept for two hours. And then I had an early lecture to go to. It's not my fault that 4 in the morning isn't a standard business hour. And when I got back to my room, Yang was practically unconscious. I suspect that she 'went out' last night…"

"That is very likely," Weiss muttered.

"Anyway," Blake continued. "After I was unable to divine a comprehensible phrase from Yang, I went on a vain search for tea in the room. But, then I remembered some advice that Yang gave me on my first day; 'If we're missing something, just go to Ruby's room – the door is always open, and she doesn't mind.' But given your reaction," she added. "It would appear that you do indeed mind."

Ruby looked sheepish. "Heh. Sorry. I really don't mind. I guess I'm just unfamiliar with you."

Blake sipped. "How do you know Yang?"

"We met at the start of the year, and we hung out pretty regularly." Ruby moved over to where Blake was, and sat down on a chair herself.

"Really? That's genuinely surprising."

"Well, once she started wanting to go out at nights, the occasions became lesser." Ruby thought, and added, "In a debate about whether or not to go out at nights, the hangover always wins."

Blake chuckled at that.

Ruby smiled. "Are you busy?"

"My only obligations today are an evening lecture and my overnight shift," Blake replied.

"Great." Ruby leaned over and flicked the kettle on. "I like coffee myself." She glanced and saw Weiss standing awkwardly by the door. "Weiss. Do you want to stick around?"

Weiss bit her lip. "Um…" She was considering declining the offer, when she noticed Blake glancing curiously at her. _Intriguing… _she thought. "Sure." As she walked over to them, she was sure that she saw a flicker of a smile on Blake's face.

She sat down with them. "So, let's try this again, Blake; Where are you from?" she asked, much more politely than their initial encounter.

Blake smiled, appreciating the effort. "Menagerie. I'm supposed to be – no, poor choice of words – if I had stayed, I mean, then I would be in my second year. But here I am, starting fresh courses."

"Why did you leave there? I hear that it's nice enough place, even though it must get cold that far south," Ruby said.

"It's, uh…" Blake scratched the back of her neck. "That's a difficult topic, I think."

"Oh. Well, if you don't want to talk about it…" Ruby said, feeling that they were encroaching on something sensitive.

"No, no, you're fine!" Blake said. "I just left some baggage over there is all. Relationships that went from fruitful to sour in rather spectacular fashion. I'm not denying any accusations of colorful language being used in those parting exchanges, either. Any and all labels I gave to those people were, in my own opinion, well deserved and fitting."

"Like what?" Ruby asked.

"Well, I'm sure you know terms such as 'douchebag' and 'bitch.' Think several orders of magnitude more insulting." Blake swished her tea around, and took another sip.

Weiss made a noise in the back of her throat. "But surely that wasn't the only reason you left."

Blake contemplated. "Hm, I suppose. The crashing and burning of my various ties was indeed a large reason why I wanted to leave, but you're right. Menagerie was a frustrating city. I guess it still is – it's only been six months, so it could very well still be the same. Menagerie is a city for those who have a steady position in society, not for those who are trying to establish their positions in society. Before I left high school, I could see that it was becoming less and less of a city that supported my needs. When I was in my freshman year at college, that disconcerting thought became a painfully annoying reality."

"In what way?" Ruby thought aloud.

"Money, I'm guessing," Weiss supposed.

Blake nodded. "It's generally difficult to land a strong job. And when one has no tertiary qualifications, it becomes even more difficult. Which is a 'chicken or the egg' thing, in my opinion, as one needs the job, to pay for college, to get the job. You know?

"Also, the city is rather infamous for violence," she continued.

"Violence?"

"Turf wars, really," Blake explained. "There are those that grind to get a job, and those that are unfortunate enough to be passed over. Hard times make people desperate, and that desperation leads to the formation of opinions on the way that things should be run. If enough people who share those opinions overlap, suddenly you have a faction. Or a gang – whatever nomenclature you prefer. Give it enough time, and you get rivaling factions. And when you get those special kinds of scum that supply the factions with weapons to maim each other, then you're looking at a tense situation threatening to escalate.

"I had ties to these factions – indirectly, mind you – through friends that I had met in school that ended up falling off the straight and narrow. As I hinted at, you can only guess how that would have turned out."

Weiss let it all sink in. "I… didn't know about that. Sorry-"

"Eh, it's fine." Blake held up a hand. "I'm hundreds of miles from that place now. I have no regrets about leaving it behind, despite my less-than-amicable parting terms with those there, and I have no qualms about forging ahead here at Beacon."

"Have you gone into the city much since you got here?"

"Only for work – the city library area and a few streets downtown, near the bar I tend at. Without a car, there's just no time to wait around for a bus to travel into the city."

Ruby sipped. "I'm only new to Vale this year as well – I came from Patch – and I've only spent a little bit of time out in the city… Weiss usually tells me that I can count on my hand how many times I've been out there."

"And you loved it every time," Weiss pointed out.

Ruby nodded. "It's great. It's just so interesting. And coming from Patch, where nothing ever happens, that's like a drug to me."

"I've been to Patch; it's not that bad," Weiss said.

An island far off the west coast, Patch was renowned for its extreme seasonal changes. A tourist destination by definition, it was home to clean beaches of white sand, and views of the glittering, shimmering coastline. Many that went to the beaches often claimed that they could see the fuzzy shapes of the mainland from the shore. This was, in fact, a white lie; they could indeed see shapes far in the distance, but they were merely of smaller islands dotting the area between Patch and the actual mainland.

It had a reputation as a peaceful haven, which was indeed a reason why it had such a robust tourist trade. But for some, unending peace could seem synonymous with complacency and the trappings of routine. It was clear to Blake that Ruby was one of those people who found the so-called "paradise" dull and uninteresting, which was why she was naturally drawn to the "excitement" of the city of Vale.

Blake smiled knowingly. "And you want to go in the city and stay there, I bet. You could be there now, as a matter of fact. It doesn't seem like you have anything important going on, since you're here receiving me – or is it the other way around?"

Ruby decided to leave the question hanging, and focused instead on the statement. "Actually, at this moment, I still have fifteen more minutes of a lecture, but this is far more interesting than that. No, I think I would like to stay in the city for a day again. I haven't done that since before I started here. But it's like you said: there's no time to wait for a bus here, and as the poor college students we are, we don't have cars."

"I do," Weiss pointed out.

"That's true," Ruby considered. "But when I said 'poor college students we are' I was referring to myself and Blake. You're not a poor college student at all."

"Really?" Blake raised an eyebrow.

"My father is Greger Schnee, president of the largest technology company in the city. I'm the only child in the family, which makes me the natural heiress to the company," Weiss explained.

"No offence," Blake frowned. "But if your father is one of those 'furthering the name' types, then why is the only child in the family a girl? Or do you plan on staying Schnee even if you marry?"

"Believe me, I've asked myself those questions and many more like them over the course of my formative years. I would press the issue with my parents, if they weren't too old to try for a male child by now. They met when they were already middle-aged, and they didn't get married until they were both in their forties. Even then, it was at least another five years until I was born."

"Wow," Ruby said. "It's like they had one roll of the dice-"

"And came up snake-eyes, at least in the context of furthering the name." Weiss finished. "But the question of my marriage is one I go back and forth on every so often. I don't even know if I want to get married. Of course, I've met suitors my whole life, handpicked by my parents to be the key to a future monopoly on this market or that one. It's at those points where I really denounce the whole process.

"Besides, I know it's what my parents picture for me: to find a suitor from one of the major players, to get married and have heirs of my own, but sometimes it's not what _I_ picture for me."

"Why's that?"

"Well for one thing, she's gay," Ruby said.

"Wow, Ruby," Weiss said flatly, and whacked her on the arm. "Way to put it out there."

"Really? Interesting…" Blake was intrigued. "That would definitely throw a wrench into your parents' vision. I'm assuming they don't know?"

"Your assumption would be correct. There are many scenarios in which I could tell them, but I often find myself remembering, _I'm their only child. Their one link to a future dynasty_ and all that sort of stuff. With all they've done for me, I find it hard to have to ruin their vision with four words like _I am a lesbian_. It will come out eventually, I'm sure," Weiss muttered. "It will most likely transpire like some dramatic screenplay, where I will have gone through some life-changing twist that compels me to be more open about my desires."

"How clichéd."

"Indeed. But sometimes that's the way it is." Weiss looked out the window. "I love girls. It's a part of who Weiss Schnee is, and I'm not going to betray who I am as a person for anyone, not even my parents."

Ruby smiled and thumped Weiss on the back, a bit too hard. "You tell 'em, Weiss! I'm so proud of you," she gushed over Weiss's spluttering and coughing.

Blake laughed. _Forget buying tea. I'm coming here for my fix from now on._

After Weiss finished glaring at Ruby, she straightened up in her chair again. "And that's the story of why I'm not a poor college student," she chuckled.

"I think you could write a story about your life," Blake said. "It's definitely interesting enough, with enigmatic characters, plot twists and secrets."

Ruby smiled to herself, with how well the exchange was progressing. _Compared to their first meeting, they're veritable best friends,_ she thought.

Weiss smirked. "I think you're onto something."

"Am I now?"

"Ssh. Don't tell my parents. They won't like me writing a book when I'm supposed to be reading them."

"How will that dramatic screenplay transpire, I wonder?"

The two girls laughed over their beverages, as the abused kettle boiled another round of water.

* * *

**Conversations, conversations. Are we seeing something of a connection here? Maybe we are. We'll see.**

**...Truly Yours, Kalico.**


	4. Lace & Lovers Past

**So it's been a while (I think), but here I am with chapter 4!**

* * *

Daylight was still in full force, but beginning to give way to the dusk when Yang stumbled into the room she shared with Blake. She could blearily make out said roommate dozing peacefully, and grinned. Then she started chuckling. She was listening to the way she was laughing, and that amused her even further. It was hilarious to her, that she was standing in her doorway, giggling at her sleeping roommate. Suddenly she started roaring with laughter.

"HONEY, I'M HOOOOME!"

Blake groaned slowly. "Yang, is that–AH!"

Laughing raucously, Yang had taken a running start and jumped on top of Blake. The girl had been sleeping on her back, had barely had a millisecond to react, and failed. Now she found Yang sprawled across her abdomen and legs, effectively immobilizing her and restricting her breathing at the same time. Her arms were pinned between her body and Yang's, _and she could feel Yang's hands feeling around in places that they shouldn't._

"Yang?" she croaked, blushing furiously. "Do you mind at least rolling off of me before you get five across the eyes?" she asked, briefly forgetting in her anger that her arms were pinned and it was an empty threat more than anything else.

Yang happily mumbled something unintelligible into the sheets, and continued to shamelessly grope her, but otherwise didn't acknowledge anything that Blake had said. Much to Blake's horror, it appeared that she was about to drift away into the land of slumber any second. She struggled for a few moments, but finally managed to extricate her arms from their trapped position. She attempted with great difficulty to roll Yang off, but found that she would just roll back. She scowled. Finally, she gave up the soft approach, and took a hold of Yang's cheeks. She pulled, hard, and let go.

"Yow!" Yang clutched at her face, and sprung up. "D'you know that wasn't very nice of you, don't you Blakeyyy? Hmmm?"

"Don't call me that." Blake sat up and rubbed her eyes. She looked at Yang and registered that her roommate was swaying back and forth. She also noted the faint smell of alcohol on her sheets. She glanced at the clock and sighed. "The time is roughly 5.00 PM. How did you manage to get dead-drunk by 5.00 PM? The campus bar isn't even open for another hour yet."

"Ehhh… I knowww some people…" Yang waved at her. The action appeared to shift her off-balance, and she plonked down onto the floor. "Blake has some niiiiice boobs… she should show 'em off sometime," she merrily observed.

Blake glared, but froze before she could say anything. _Wait… is it really 5.00 PM? It better not… _She glanced at the clock again, and felt something akin to a sinking feeling. _Oh no._

She was about 20 minutes late for a lecture. A rather important lecture. As a prospective student of photography she felt it important to attend every lecture available to her; it was not a discipline she had undertaken at Menagerie, and she was starting a number of months behind. Even though she had only been around for a matter of days, she knew that the number of students sharing her courses was quite low. This was rather satisfying to her, as it meant that her lecture hours were more flexible. As a result, she could have an early morning lecture, or an evening lecture which would end up serving as a transition for one of her overnight shifts, be it at the city center library or the bar downtown.

And now she was seriously threatening to mess with that transition.

She jumped up and rushed over to her closet, stepping over Yang.

Yang giggled. "Ooh, black and lacyyy, hey? Very nice… Blakey-Lacy! That's your new name!"

Blake looked over herself and felt embarrassment at forgetting the state of her attire around Yang. When she had gone to bed a few hours earlier, she was unable to fall asleep. So she'd stripped down to a black camisole and her equally black underwear. It was merely a matter of being able to stretch out in bed more, and something that she did rather often when she was unable to fall asleep, so she didn't normally think anything of it. But then again, she was standing in front of an inebriated Yang, who had no trouble making her think something of it.

'Don't call me that either." Aware of the time, she quickly picked out some black jeans and a sweatshirt – she would have enough time to come back and change into something more appropriate for her shift once her lecture was done with.

"Blake!" Yang exclaimed. "You! Need to come with me tonight! We can go dancinggg, and drinkinggg, and meeting beautiful people, and clubbinggg, and dancinggg, and drinkinggg, and drinkinggg! Ooh! Make sure to wear something tight! Then it won't just be me saying that you've got nice boobs, will it?"

"You said drinking three times, and dancing twice," Blake deadpanned, ignoring much of what Yang was suggesting. "Although I suspect that your description is indeed rather accurate."

"Hehehe… lacy…"

"You know, Yang–"

"We'll have sooo much fun!"

Blake frowned. "… You know, Yang, I've been living on this campus for less than a week, and not once have I ever seen you actually go to a lecture, or do work of any kind, even though I've seen the books piled around the room." She paused to zip up her sweatshirt. "Is there a reason you're at this college when it doesn't look like you actually do anything?"

"Hey!" Yang pointed at Blake. "I've got lectures! I believe it! But I do my stuff during normal people hours, when normal people people, are normal people awake! People! Not like you! _You have to get everything done super late or super early!_ I always knew you were some kind of nocturnal hipster… do you sparkle in the sunlight? Is that why you don't go outside during the day? Or do you? I don't know… But don't worry, Blakeyyy-Lacyyy! I'll keep your secret safe with me – even though it's super-lame."

A fully-dressed Blake rolled her eyes, grabbed her rucksack, and quickly left the room. At this point, she was close to 30 minutes late and Yang's drunken harping was getting on her nerves, but at the same time, she found it all rather adorable. _What the hell. I'm already a part-time bartender. Maybe I'll take her up on that offer someday soon._

Yang looked around the room, with a dazed look on her face. She hadn't moved from the floor where she had had to sit herself down, and didn't look prepared to stand anytime in the immediate future. She hiccuped, and started laughing again. "Goodbye Blakeyyy-Lacyyy!" She waved at the closed door. After a moment, she got a feeling like she really wanted to fall asleep again. Choosing to ignore her own bed, which was still a mess of books and clothing, she crawled into her roommate's bed and dozed off.

Blake faintly heard Yang's parting message as she jogged through the hallway. In her black-and-lavender rucksack, she had a notebook and her tablet; all she needed for her courses. She was secretly glad that she didn't have to haul around textbooks filled with equations like Ruby or anatomy diagrams like Yang. The notebook was A5, and held over 300 pages – she had many more waiting to be filled back in her room – and the tablet boasted an 11-inch screen, which was compact, but still rather sizable for a device of its kind. She supplemented the device with a 1-terabyte hard drive, the physical size of a deck of cards, which held, and would continue to hold, backups of photography captures. As a result, Blake was able to minimize her materials into a format that could fit entirely on her lap, if need be.

She scampered down the three flights of stairs, and broke into a sprint for the exit to the courtyard. There was a girl who was entering the building at the same time. She had long, red hair, an outfit with a general color palette of maroon and gold, and a calm, placid expression on her face.

"Hold the door!" she exclaimed. She worried when she saw the red girl's facial expression change to one of panic, but luckily for Blake, the other girl came through, pushing the door back open just as Blake rushed through it. "Thanks!" Blake yelled over her shoulder, continuing on her path to the lecture hall.

Pyrrha Nikos watched after the girl sprinting across the courtyard. _What a delightfully strange young woman. And such pretty amber eyes… I think that I would very much like to meet her… but for now, I have someone else in mind…_

She hummed to herself as she climbed the three flights of stairs, and crossed the hallway to end up standing in front of Room 7. She knocked. No answer. She sighed. _I bet she already got drunk earlier this afternoon and passed out. That would be just like her._

She tentatively tried the doorknob, and _hm_'d in surprise when the door opened. "Yang?" she called out to the sleeping girl. She shook Yang gently by the shoulder. "Yang? Are you drunk already?"

Yang seemed not to hear her. Instead she rolled over onto her side, facing away from Pyrrha.

Pyrrha was a little bit annoyed. "So you force me to go out to Vale with you every week, where you get me to drink as much as possible and meet as many people as possible, and now the first time that I was admittedly looking forward to it, you pass out and strand me. Fine." She scribbled out a quick note, which she left on Yang's face, and made her way back to the door. "Call me when you wake up, then." She closed the door behind her, and heard a gasp when she came back in to the hallway. She whipped around to see a white-haired, white-clad girl hastily stepping back into the room she was about to leave.

"Weiss–" she began to say, but the door slammed before she could finish her sentence. She had barely caught a glimpse of the girl, but she was sure beyond a doubt that it was her ex-girlfriend. She never went to Weiss's dorm room when they were together – Pyrrha's dorm was in a building on a different part of the campus, and Weiss would always come up with excuses to stay there, such as _it's too far away,_ or _it's too messy, _or _I'm too tired _and _but I'd much rather stay in your bed tonight._

She smiled at the thought. Those excuses always appeased her, especially the last one. Then her smile became a little forlorn. Her relationship with Weiss had only lasted the better part of three months, but she had been fond of the girl nonetheless, and she had no illusion that Weiss had also been fond of her. As such, she could not understand why Weiss had chosen to break it off. When she was breaking the news to Pyrrha, she seemed anxious. Sad, indeed, but curiously anxious. Despite herself, Pyrrha hadn't asked, and Weiss hadn't elaborated. It was an unhappy time for both parties, but alas the months had drifted on, carrying them their separate ways.

She crossed the distance to the stairwell. Before descending, she looked over her shoulder again. She could just see that Weiss's door had opened again. Still no sign of her ex-girlfriend.

Pyrrha shook her head as she took the first steps down. She still wanted to talk to Weiss again, rather desperately, but she knew that there would be another day, and another opportunity. And this was not the right day, nor was it the right opportunity.

She made sure the door of the building was properly shut behind her before she proceeded across the courtyard. She had to squint to make out the outlines of the buildings in the distance. The sunset had entered full swing for the day.

* * *

**In the end, I'm quite satisfied with that chapter. Everything to do with Pyrrha in this chapter came out of nowhere, and I like how it turned out. Also, living in Australia, I have a very rudimentary understanding of American college (though they are rather similar), on which the Beacon University of this story is loosely based. As such, it would be appreciated if you refrained from picking apart every academia-based inconsistency you come across. It's an interpretive world, after all, and I'm using that label to the utmost in this case.**

**...Truly Yours, Kalico.**


	5. Takeout & Early Hours

**If I'm not mistaken, this is the longest Static Flow chapter so far. Well, we'll see how that changes things, I suppose. Enjoy!**

* * *

There were certain advantages to doing everything at night and the early morning. For Blake, advantages meant sleeping peacefully during the warm midday hours, when the air-conditioning was cranked on throughout the entire building. Those midday hours were also obviously when most of the other students went to class, Yang included, so Blake found that she had the dorm room to herself. She would often spend the time reading, studying, or sleeping while her roommate was out learning the intricacies of human anatomy. It was already a dull and routine existence, but Blake didn't mind. She was still counting her lucky stars that she was in Vale.

Another advantage was that she could spend her time outside getting acquainted with the night. She didn't care for high temperatures whatsoever, and relished every moment that a cool breeze from the harbor swept across the campus. It appeared that Vale was having one of those months, where the maximum temperatures would turn pale skin a light pink and cause beads of sweat to appear on the foreheads of everyone Blake saw walking around. Of course, she was able to escape this most of the time – unless she had to do some shooting outdoors – by keeping to her room. Then, when it was time for her to get to a lecture, and her shift afterwards, the worst of the day had passed. If she was wearing sweaters into Vale during the throes of summer, then she could only anticipate what it must be like during the winter. _Would it snow? I've heard rumors, but far be it for the new girl of summer to judge._

However, despite her affinity for the cooler climate, she did not appreciate rain.

It had begun during her lecture. Rather than punishing her for being late as she was, the remaining dregs of sunlight had only given way to rain by the time she was in her seat taking notes. It allowed her to breathe a sigh of relief that she had not been caught in it – she considered thanking Yang later for actually waking her up – but it made her bite her lip, anxious about the night ahead of her.

Her fears were realized when the lecture wrapped up and it was still raining outside. It had been a peculiar day; earlier on, before she'd sat down with Ruby and Weiss to talk over tea, it had looked extremely dreary, only to clear up by the time she went back to her room to nap. Now it was coming down.

The biggest issue she had was that she had to walk to the bus stop just outside the campus gates, and both the path there and the bus stop itself were completely exposed to the elements. To make matters more annoying than they already were, the bus was late, and didn't show up until almost 10 minutes after it was supposed to. Suffice it to say, Blake was soaked to the skin and, she felt, perhaps even further than the skin. Forced to stand, dripping all over the bus floor and leaving damp patches on those that brushed past her, she was silently thankful that she hadn't worn anything white, especially when it dawned on her that she had forgotten to put on a bra after Yang woke her up. _Great. At least I was still smart enough to throw on some layers after the lecture._

The bus dropped her off about a street away from the V Bar – that was actually its name – with about an hour to spare until her shift. That gave her time to sit by a heater and dry off (or evaporate, she felt was a more appropriate description) and eat something before the bar opened.

The V Bar was an interesting case in the cross-examination of Vale's nightlife. Unlike most bars around the city, it didn't open until later in the night and was quickly packed when it did open. It was a large building, for a local drinking establishment, and it was, peculiarly, the regular haunt for representatives of all walks of Vale's culture. There were the Middle-Agers, businesspeople looking for a good time, their suits disheveled after another long day at the office, the trendy people with button-down shirts and tight pants rolled up at the ankles – the "hipsters" that Yang went on about to Blake, she soon realized – the Crows, as her fellow barkeeps called them, young women drinking light beer, wearing eyeliner and black lipstick, and the guys who consistently turned up wearing muscle shirts and an offensive amount of hair product. These were only some of the groups that spent their nights at the V Bar, and Blake saw they all had one thing in common: they were _gorgeous_. Every single one of them, even the Middle-Agers and the Crows, looked like they could have been augmented out of a magazine pin-up. If she wasn't working, and if she had looser standards, Blake was sure that she could easily find herself with a drink in hand, chatting (flirting, even) with any one of them. It was an easy environment, and she enjoyed working there every other night – her other job was at the city library, pulling the overnight shift; she alternated between the two.

After picking up a container takeout-food from the nearby noodle house, she went around to the back door of the V Bar. She looked at the black camera dome slightly above her head, making sure it could see her bedraggled form, and pressed the buzzer next to the door.

She heard a sliding noise on the other side, and it swung open. Velvet was there standing in the doorway, smiling warmly.

"Hey Velvet." Blake returned her smile and stepped inside.

Velvet locked the door behind her. "How's it going, Blake? You look like you took a shower with your clothes on."

"Blame it on the rain."

"I haven't seen it come down like this in at least a year." Velvet handed her the key to the employee backrooms. "Hopefully it gets lighter when we're opening."

Velvet Scarlatina also worked as a bartender, and ever since Blake had arrived in Vale and begun at the V Bar, she had expanded her duties, taking on the role of Blake's supervisor. The thing that she had noticed quickest, however, was that her protégé was actually a rather quick study. On the night of Blake's first shift, the new girl had fumbled a little, spilled a couple of glasses and was generally hesitant. After some brief reassurances, Velvet noticed the rising levels of confidence, and by the end of the shift, Blake looked perfectly at home, mixing drinks with speed and precision and ease. It was quite an interesting and rapid transformation over the course of one shift.

As a result, Velvet had eased back her role as Blake's supervisor. There was still questions to be answered, for some of the more unique drinks that came their way, but her seniority had dialed back to that of an occasional advice-giver. She didn't mind, though; it meant that she was able to spend less time demonstrating, and more time chatting with Blake. Despite the reserved demeanor of both girls, they found each other personable enough to have prolonged conversations during quiet periods, and they had caught the bus back to campus together after their most recent shift – Velvet also studied at Beacon, and lived in a different dorm building to Blake, so their shifts were really the only times that they had seen each other.

Blake was fond of Velvet. When she had first met her, she wondered how in the world this diminutive, bespectacled girl with the long brown hair could possibly be a bartender, let alone her supervisor. But despite her shy appearance, Velvet was a phenomenal bartender, capable of handling even the rowdiest of the Muscle Shirts. That impressed Blake, and it was what she recalled as she sat, shivering, next to the heater in the backroom, gulping down forkfuls of noodles which were coated in a suspiciously red sauce. Tasty, though.

Velvet walked in to the room carrying two hand towels, both of which she tossed at Blake. "Sorry, this is all we've got." She sat next to her, stretching her hands across Blake to the heater.

Blake sighed, pulling the towels off of her head where they had landed. "Thanks." She grabbed one of Velvet's hands and shoved the takeout container into it. "Take it."

Velvet stared at the container, and at Blake. Then she shook her head, and put the container down in the small space between them. "No, it's yours-"

"Please." Blake smiled. "I won't finish it."

"I doubt that. I admit I don't know you that well, which is why I don't know if you have a thing for practical joking. This thing could be laced with… I don't know, something…"

"Right. After I spent the last 10 minutes eating it, I poured a lethal toxin into it, and that's why it's all red in there." Blake rolled her eyes, but kept her smile. "Go on." She pushed the container back towards Velvet. "It's nice."

Velvet picked the container up again and sniffed at it, obviously this time just for show, before she ate some. Blake chuckled, and started running the hand towels over her upper body. They weren't all that effective, but definitely a better alternative to simply waiting for the water to finish dripping off of her body.

"Mm, you weren't kidding. This is… _amazing…_"

If Blake were anybody else, she would have burst out laughing at Velvet's expression. The other girl was looking, transfixed, at the contents of the container. Her mouth was partially open, and her eyes looked starry. But Blake was Blake, so she didn't burst out laughing. Instead she grinned and snapped her fingers in front of Velvet's eyes. "Snap out of it. You look like you've just had some sort of ground-shaking epiphany."

"Eh-sorry." Velvet looked sheepish. "Where did you get this from?"

"A few places down from here. You've never been?"

"No, I guess not. I usually get a salad from the sandwich place across the street. I have to go this place," she said, examining the container, looking for some sort of distinctive logo. "When are they open?"

"I was waiting for you to say that." She handed over a business card. "It's open 24 hours."

Velvet's eyes widened. "Blake. We must visit this place. Screw the bus back to campus. When we're done with our shift tonight, we're going to this place."

"S-sure thing."

Then, something clicked. Still happily scarfing noodles, Velvet swung an arm around Blake's shoulders. They remained like that for a moment, one girl eating and the other now sitting still, acquiescing to the closeness, until Velvet suddenly withdrew her arm.

"You're still wet. And we open in about 30 minutes." Velvet stood, and headed for the door. "I'll let you finish off in here."

Blake smiled, remembering the warming feeling of Velvet's arm around her shoulders. _So… that happened._

* * *

Weiss was not Blake. She did not have a need, a compulsion, to be active during the witching hours. Her lectures all took place at ordinary daylight hours, like the other 98 or 99% of the campus population. As such, she made it a standard expectation to be awake from 6.40 AM through to 10.00 PM, at the very least. She did _not _expect to be awoken at 3.53 AM. She did _not _appreciate being awoken at 3.53 AM.

But it seemed Ruby didn't care all that much.

That's the thought that flashed through Weiss's mind when she felt Ruby shaking her by the shoulder. That thought as instantly replaced with _I'm going to kill this girl._

She groaned. "Ruby?"

"Weiss." Ruby sounded extremely groggy.

"Go. Back. To. Bed," Weiss ground out. She knew that their room was still dark, but she squeezed her eyes shut even further.

"Weiss… Weiss…"

"What?" Weiss hissed. She still kept her eyes closed. "Ruby-"

"Blake was really something, wasn't she?"

Weiss chose not to school Ruby on the topic of past and present tense. "… What?"

"Very interesting. And nice. Not to mention pretty. And polite-"

"Yeah. So?"

Her eyes were still grudgingly closed, but Weiss could _Ruby _smiling.

"I noticed how you were acting around her earlier."

"Okayyyy. Like you said, she's not as irritable as I initially made her out to be."

"Sure, you two were getting along like a house on fire, but that's not all, because…" Ruby jabbed her finger at Weiss's forehead. "You like her, don't you? As in, _like her _like her."

Weiss batted her hand away. "… That feels like an accusation."

"Sorry. But that's not an answer."

Weiss felt heat flooding into her cheeks. "Uh…"

It was something that she hadn't actually thought about, throughout their conversation or afterwards. Certainly her opinion of Blake had warmed this time around, but she hadn't considered that Blake was even in the realm of her options. Was she looking for someone, with Pyrrha more or less a hastily-scribbled footnote in her relationship history? The way she'd jumped out of her skin earlier, at the mere sight of her, suggested that perhaps she wasn't quite as over their relationship as she would have liked. If she wanted to even think about _maybe _getting closer to Blake, then she had to make it a priority to face up to this Pyrrha thing. Not to mention that this was all predicated on the possibility that Blake would even be interested.

During the conversation, Weiss and Ruby – mainly Ruby – did certainly reveal Weiss's orientation, but Blake had simply taken that information and run it into the topic of her business magnate Schnee parents.

_But of course. What was I thinking? Did I think that she would tell me what sort of people she was after, simply because I told her that I like girls?_

Weiss's questions hung in the air, as the sounds of creaking bedsprings and shuffling sheets broke through her thoughts. Frowning, she sat up and opened her eyes for the first time during the exchange.

Ruby was back in her bed, asleep. And Weiss was now wide awake.

* * *

Velvet's back felt warm, but not as warm as the feeling of her lips against Blake's own. Every second or so, a moan or a gasp escaped from their mouths. Tongues were easily parting closed lips, their hands sliding across each other's backs under their shirts.

After their shift had ended, at around 3.00 AM, Blake and Velvet indeed stopped for takeout food – after having had at least four drinks. Staggering slightly, and leaning on each other a little, they caught a bus back to campus. From there, one thing led to another; they found themselves in Velvet's room, which was empty because "my roommate is staying in her boyfriend's room." Not much more was said after that, and Velvet quickly wound up on top of Blake, kissing her, with Blake kissing back.

Blake felt herself getting lightheaded. Not from lack of breath or anything like that, but from sheer drunk pleasure. She shifted her hands to the hem of Velvet's shirt and pushed it up.

"Get rid of my shirt, and I'll get rid of yours," she breathed.

Velvet didn't hesitate. Blake's shirt met the floor, as did Velvet's soon thereafter.

"You didn't wear a bra." It wasn't a question, more an observation.

Blake's face flushed more than it already was. "Well… then I think it's only fair…"

Velvet's bra landed with their shirts on the floor. They kept kissing, pressing their bodies closing together, warming each other on the unusually cold, rainy night.

And even in the hazy stupor she was in, Blake still had to ask: "How did-how did you know?"

"Know what?"

"… Never mind. What are you stopping for?"

* * *

**So, I wonder how Velvet's earth-shaking introduction will go over. I'm prepared for people to yell "OOC" (especially in the final scene) but in this case I don't really care. Drunk personalities are almost always different from sober personalities, and Velvet is the same. As for her closeness to Blake in the first scene, that's just the way friends act, and yes, they are friends. ****I've said it before, but if you ever thought this story was just going to be about Blake getting with Weiss, then you don't know half of it.**

**This was actually the first time I've written anything that comes close to an intimate scene, and I quite like it. No need for overt and graphic details, and that's perfectly fine.**

**I've also said this before, but I don't do lemons. I'm not really a fan, especially if it completely detracts from the story and writing. Not to mention that almost all lemons (in every single ffn archive, ever) read basically the same. I have a thing where I keep all my projects at a T rating, and obviously graphic content bumps that up to an immediate M. As such, don't ever expect a lemon from me, not in this story, and not ever for the foreseeable future.**

**...Truly Yours, Kalico.**


End file.
